Improvement in door-latches



BARTHEL ERBE, OF. PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

IM PROVEMENT'IN DOOR-LATCH ES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 59,373, dated November 6, 1866.

To all whom it may concern:

. Be it known that I, BARTHEL ERBE, of the city of Pittsburg, State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in the manner of Constructing Door Latches;

' and I hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to -the letters of. reference marked thereon, which form vpart of this specification. My invention consists in so connecting the leyer, which operates the latch-bolt with the case or frame that the pivotal point or center of motion of said lever may be moved or adjusted so as to allow the latch-head to protrude from the case suciently to permit its being revolved on its axis without being disconnected from the other parts of the latch.

The object of my invention is to adapt a beveled latch-head to use in a lock-case for a right or left hand door.

In the drawings, Figure 1 represents a plan of the internal arrangement of an ordinary levenlatch embodying my improvements, with the various parts in position for use. Fig. 2 represents the saine plan with the lever adjusted so as to permit the latch-head to protrude beyond the case sufficiently to allow its being revolved on its axis.

The saine letters refer to the same parts in all thev iigures.

a is the case or frame. b is the latch-bar. It has a square head, b', which is beveled on one side, as ordinary latches are, the shaft of ihe latch being round at b and smaller than the square hole through which it protrudes. The latch is connected at w by a swivel-joint. to the lever c, which is operated by an ordinary hub or follower, d. The lever c,.which chietiy involves my invention, is connected with the case at the pin c, which passes through the oval hole j'.

In the position shown in Fig. l the pivotal point or fulcrum ot lever c is between the lever and the sliding' rest or stopper g, which has an independent motion and is operated by the handle h, which projects through the` opening o in the edge ofthe case. Ordinarily this slide is used as a stopper to prevent the movement of the latch, which it accomplishes when brought-into the position indicated by the dotted lines ij in Fig. 1, the part g being large enough to still support the end of the lever when the part i comes in contact with th point of lever marked s.

When it is desired to reverse the latch the supplemental stopper i is forcedinside of the case by pressing on the point c, so as to allowr Asufficient movement to the entire slide g to withdraw it entirely from the support of the lever c, as shown in Fig.2. The spiral spring x immediately/'throws the latch forward so as to protrude the head, as shown at b', Fig. 2, in which position it may be reversedfroni the right to the left, as shall be desired.

To :restore it to itsworking position it is only necessary to push lightly on the end of the latch, so as to hold it'in the square opening, and then by the handle h pull the slide g back to the position shown in Fig. 1,'when the spring iii-A dicated by dotted line 7c will force the snpplemental side t' back to its position, and the point c will project through the case by the side of the handle h and prevent the accidental displacement of gfrom its proper working position.

Although I have described this slide thus particularly, I do not consider it an essential part of my invention, as its form mayl be variously modified, or it may be displaced entirely and the lever heldin its position by the presence of a screw or some other movable part.

'I therefore claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent- So connecting the lever c with the case or frame, that it may have the supplemental motion and adjustment herein described, substantially for the purpose set forth.

BARTHEL ERBE. Witnesses:

JN0. H. PEALE, A. PATTERSON. 

